Hallo fellow LJ’s, i was listening to one of the latest FWW podcasts where Matt and Mike talk about the Bob van Dyke sharpening box. The stones used by Bob are the Shaptons, 1000 and 8000.

So in my enthusiasm i ordered the 1000 and the 8000 pro series instead of the ones on glass. Now that i have the stones, can i buy glass 2-3/4×8-1/4 and some-how glue this to the back of my new stones. Put the print on the glass side. I would have the best of all, thicker stones, on glass, at a lower price… right?

The question now is, what glue will hold up in water, and what glass will be strong enough.

Please advise, thanks.

-- rhykenologist and plant grower

10 replies so far

I used West system epoxy.Id stay away from the cheap 5 mn.Sav up for a diamond plate to keep them flat and the surface fresh.They do slow down when they get full of metal.I think you did good getting the pro stones I don’t care much for the the glass series.

I’m not sure what G flex is I goggled fu it and got a cell phone page.The only reason for glueing a piece of glass was to keep them from breaking when they get thin.It kinda helped to hold them flat between sharpening sessions.But they still will need to be dressed flat.I sharpen a lot and I think I go at least a year before I start adding glass.I’ve broken two of the cream colored polishing stones in half.But it’s well worth the trouble guleing it back together such a nice stone.

To keep my stones flat, I just bought the carbide grit. It’s cheap, and can be used over and over.

Would aluminum work? I make my own blanks for my Edge Pro from scrap aluminum I pick up. It’s easy to cut and such.

I glue everything from wet stones to the blanks to sandpaper and leather.

For the sandpaper, I just use the glue sticks, since it’ll get change out more often. It holds up surprisingly well.

For leather, from old belts and such, that I use with McGuies Mag polish, chromium oxide or buff compounds, whether Flex gold stuff or Harbor Freight compounds, I use epoxy or contact (3-M spray, last time).

Is any glass he finds going to be out enough to be of any concern for this use? We’re talking small pieces, so ….

For my granite, I have hunks I picked up from granite places, out of their granite trash piles (free). It’s perfect for the flattening of stones. I could even drop a piece and it’d probably survive, since it’s over an inch thick, unless you go for tile, instead, which will work too, but is only around a half inch thick.

As to the thickness, there is no reason you can’t use thicker, unless weight is a concern. Using something like an Edge Pro, you have to compensate for the thickness of mounting plates. However, that applies to stones too, since they throw off the angle, when switching from stone to stone, either because they wear or the manufacturer builds to different standards. That’s not an issue here.

If you are just riding on the glass or stone, as with one of those jigs for sharpening chisels, it wouldn’t matter how thick the base was. It could be an inch or a foot and it’d work.

__If you do want some carbide for flattening stones, you can purchase it from many sources. It made quick work of several stones I have.

A little bit goes a long ways. Too, it’ll work whatever you are using to support it, so have another pieces of glass or granite for that purpose.

Whatever you do, keep in mind, it’s fair game to experiment. I was doing what they now call Scary Sharp LONG before the name existed. Interestingly, experts told me I couldn’t [and get good results], but, like in a lot of instances, experts aren’t always right, or as expert as they believe themselves. There are many things they haven’t tried, but will nay say anyway.

The diamond won’t give significant gains in efficiency of flattening small stones, but it’ll be a darn site cleaner.

Finally, and looking at the picture, any amount the glass is off, if any, may happen with free hand errors. No?